Finger shield



July 11, 1950 J. J. SMlDL FINGER snmw Filed Jan. 51, 1949 INVENTOR. Joseph J. Smid/ BY 4 IfQ/ MEQA Patented July 11, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FINGER SHIELD Joseph J. Smidl, Portland, Oreg. Application January 31, 1949, Serial No. 73,708

2 Claims.

1 The present invention comprises a device for guarding against the application of nail polish to portions of the finger other than the nail. An

object of the present invention is to provide a sturdy device of the character'described which is of such inexpensive construction that a, number thereof may be purchased in order to have a'guard for each type of fingernail.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a device of the foregoing character which may be applied to all of thefingers of the user.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a fingernail guard which, when applied to the finger, remains in position so that the other hand of the user may be free to apply polish to the nail of the finger upon which the guard is positioned.

The objects and advantages of the present invention will be more thoroughly understood by I inspection of the following specification taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, while the features of novelty will be more distinctly pointed out in the appended claims.

In thedrawings Fig. 1 is a plan view of a pair of devices made in accordance with the present invention applied to a finger shown in dash outline;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken substantially along line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a. view looking toward the tip of the finger and illustrating the application of the device thereto; and

Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken substantially along line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

- The present invention is designed to be utilized on one side of a finger, hence the devices are supplied in pairs designed for use at the right and left sides of the finger. Each device comprises a pair of members including an upper member l and a lower member l'l pivoted together on a pivot l2, the outer ends of the members bein urged apart by a leaf spring l3. The upper member I0 terminates in a shield I4 having its edge conforming to the outline of one sideof a nail from the front thereof to a median point at the rear thereof, and the lower member I I terminates in a tongue l5 projecting beyond the shield 14 to a considerable extent. The shield i4 is preferably curved upwardly from front to rear, and the edge thereof preferably terminates in a downwardly turned lip I6 capable of entering the groove alongside the nail, with the depth of the lip progressively decreasing from front to rear until it entirely disappears on the portion overlying the finger behind the nail. The tongue I5 is preferably roughened at I1 along its upper surface so that when the device is clasped on the finger with the 'lip l6 grasping the finger alongside the nail the tongue will not slip from beneath the fleshy'part of the finger. In order to aid the gripping action of the device the tongue is preferably twisted so as to lie in a plane inclined upwardly toward the tip of the finger. The opposite side of the tongue is preferably knurled or roughened as indicated at It so that when the left-hand device is in position the roughened upper surface of one tongue will engage the roughened lower surface of the other tongue to prevent the tWo tongues from slipping away from each other.

Having illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of the invention, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention permits of modification in arrangement and detail. I claim as my invention all such modifications as come within the true spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A device for use in guarding against the application of nail polish to portions of the finger other than the nail, comprising a shield adapted to overlie a portion of the finger at one side of the nail, said shield having its inner edge conforming to the outline of one side of a nail from the front thereof to a median point at the rear thereof, said edge being turned downwardly from the plane of the shield to provide a lip capable of entering the groove alongside the nail, and the depth of the lip progressively decreasing from front to rear.

2. A device of the character described, comprisinga pair of pivotally connected members, one of said members having a shield thereon adapted to overlie a portion of the finger at one side of the nail, said shield having its inner edge conforming to the outline of one side of a nail from the front thereof to a median point at the rear thereof, said edge being turned downwardly from the plane of the shield to provide a lip capable of entering the groove alongside the nail, the other of said members having a tongue projecting be- REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,428,152 Goettel Sept. 30, 1947 2,454,004

Pettyjohn Nov, 16, 1948 

